Just Like Old Times
by Still Bullet
Summary: The generators were down, the war had begun—Gordon and Barney only had to open the gate. But that ambush wasn't exactly helping. One-Shot.


_The generators were down, the war had begun--Gordon and Barney only had to open the gate. But that ambush wasn't exactly helping._

_Thanks for the reviews on my first story, guys! This is the first time I used Gordon in a story, but this story is more concentrated on Barney. See the end of the story for more author's notes; if I put it here, it would contain some spoilers. Based on another idea I had for a while. And it seems I can NEVER think of a good title._

**_Based On: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: Again, between K+ and T.  
Author's Notes: Another Idea I had for a while. But it came out shorter than I thought.  
One-Shot_**

--

"Yeah, I'm hurt pretty bad." The old security guard gave off a soft wince as he touched the bullet wound at the side of his lower chest. He could barely be heard over the gunfire in the Nexus building, echoing in the hallway next to them. Barney reloaded his pulse-rifle as he gave off a nervous smile to Gordon Freeman, who was currently shoving bullets into his shotgun. His HEV suit detected some slight blood loss, but Barney seemed to be in the worse condition. Their last medic had just been shot dead; everyone else already died before they were ambushed. They entered the building with the goal of opening that gate and letting the rebels get their chance on this war. There were six of them then. Now there were only two.

Barney reached over towards the rebel corpse that had been violently flung towards them after a Combine's grenade had exploded under his feet. He searched the body's pockets in hopes of finding any more ammunition or medical supplies he might have. Against his hopes, he found none, and muttered a curse under his breath.

The gun shots took a moment's pause as the radio conversation between the Combine soldiers quickly discussed their plan. A countdown from one of them could be heard as a grenade had been thrown towards the centre off the room, rolling for a quick second before it exploded. Luckily for Gordon and Barney, they were sitting behind the wall next to the hallway, hopefully safe from any attacks…for this moment, at least.

"Just like old times, eh Gordon?" A quick laugh escaped through Barney's mouth, trying to look on the brighter side of the current situation. All of the generators were destroyed—that suppression device was down for good. The only thing they needed to do was to get to the console on the other side of the hallway that would let them open that gate, but the Overwatch forces that were dropped on the roof were currently hindering their plans. The horde was not exactly unexpected, but the amount of soldiers was more than their ammunition could take.

If there was one thing about Barney, it was that he wouldn't stop fighting. "Ready, bud?" he asked, a smirk pulling his lips apart, his finger wrapped tightly around the trigger. That was something the two had in common—neither of them were ever afraid of what was before them. Death was never an option.

Barney gritted his teeth together as he tried to go against the pain that surged through his body. Gordon was the only man he knew who could get his arm ripped off and show nothing but a grunt as a reaction to the pain. If only he had such a high toleration as Gordon did.

Or maybe it was just that morphine he got injected into his body all of the time.

"Target Freeman," was the only thing of the radio chatter that could be heard before the gunfire had started up again once Gordon and Barney had made themselves visible to continue the battle. Barney yelped as a bullet had skidded across the top of his shoulder, yet he refused to put his gun down. Gordon was trying his best to shoot the few soldiers at the end of the hall, occasionally getting a large amount of blood to splat against the wall as the alienated corpse fell to the ground.

"Gordon, help!" Barney shouted, as more soldiers seemed to pour in out of nowhere. The pounding sound of the pulse-rifle firing covered up his cries, however, and the gun soon started to make nothing but a click whenever Barney pulled the trigger. "Damn it," he muttered, as he soon realized that the rifle was completely out of ammunition.

The next sound was something different than the robotic-toned screams and gunfire. Gordon had slipped back behind the wall as he tried to load his shot gun once again, the last empty shell rolling on the ground and stopping next to his foot. Barney was about to do the same until the all-too-familiar sound to Gordon had interrupted the battle. Gordon's stern face opened wide with shock as an energy ball from an elite's pulse-rifle shot out and hit Barney directly in the chest, his eyes becoming glassy as his death shut down his body.

"No…" Barney's last word managed to escape his mouth as he was lifted into the air, his body vaporized before Gordon's eyes. The Combine's radio chatter had started up again, mentioning the words of their success.

**ASSIGNMENT: TERMINATED  
****SUBJECT: FREEMAN  
****REASON: FAILURE TO PRESERVE MISSION-CRITICAL PERSONNEL**

**--**

_BASED ON A TRUE STORY!  
Well, almost. This happened a while ago--I was playing "Half-Life 2" and was inside the Nexus building, at the part where you have to fight off the Combine once you disabled all of the generators. I was fighting them in the hallway, when all of the sudden an elite shot and energy ball. I managed to dodge it, but poor Barney didn't, and to my horror he vaporized right in front of me. I'm basically one of the only that cares for the AI when they die, especially Barney, since he's my favorite character. And so, this idea was born. I also wanted to try and see how I would do in trying to make the reader feel emotion while reading this story. _

_I think this is the only depressing thing I've ever written..._

_Also, I know Barney curses when he dies, but I couldn't put that so I just put "No..." instead. I know Alyx says that when she dies, but I wasn't sure about Barney. But hey, it fits better._


End file.
